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Why do nurses dress like that?
That nurse administrators have to mandate a return to white uniforms to prevent nurses from dressing in a way that undermines their status and demeans them says much about the way nurses feel about themselves ["Back To Basics," InBox, February). Mandating white uniforms is putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. Rather than spending $75 per full-timer and $50 per part-timer, spend that money on programs directed toward improving the nurses' self-image, self-respect and communication skills. If the RN greets the patient and identifies her-or himself properly by stating name and status-"I'm your RN and will be caring for you"-the patient will not confuse the RN with the housekeeper or maintenance man no matter what he or she is wearing.
One of the advantages of having been around for a long time is having a very long view-so long, in fact, that I can remember back to the 1970s when a group of nurse aides approached me, a newly appointed director of nursing, and literally begged to be allowed to wear white uniforms. Not only...